


Heichou's Rescue Centre

by totalizzyness



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: ..and Nile; because he is in fact a cat, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, The fic where everyone's a dog except Levi and Erwin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-03 18:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2859893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalizzyness/pseuds/totalizzyness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Heichou’s Rescue Centre.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>“Hi, my name is Erwin Smith, my therapist said I should get a dog."</i></p><p> </p><p>[Title is opted to change when I think of something remotely better]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't pretend to know anything about dogs. All the "in depth" information I got was from either two of my friends who are AVID dog lovers and have very strong opinions on dogs, and google. If you yourself are a dog expert and think I've gotten anything wrong or something's not _quite_ right, do drop me a message and I'll try and correct it.

Levi ran his shelter like a military operation; the dogs were all fed at nine precisely and given twenty minutes to digest before being released into the yard. The more skittish ones had their own pens to keep them calm, but they were all very friendly with each other. Their cages were cleaned, the more active dogs walked by a volunteer whilst the lazier ones napped. Fresh water was given every two hours and they were fed again at six.

Every one of Levi’s rescues were adoptable and he was determined to find them all loving homes, even if he had to adopt them himself. The main downside to the operation was Levi’s almost impossibly high standards. He turned away more potential dog owners than he let adopt.

He refused to see any of his pups left home alone by a working family or crammed into a box apartment. His goal was to care for the rejected animals, not cater to selfish humans.

* * *

Levi was sat in his office, playing with the three runtish labrador pups he’d found abandoned in a box when the phone rang. He gently tossed their ball to distract them as he grabbed the phone.

“Heichou’s Rescue Centre.”

“Hi, my name is Erwin Smith, my therapist said I should get a dog, and well…”

Levi rolled his eyes, scratching the blonde pup behind the ear. “And you want to adopt one of mine.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t sound too sure. Owning a dog isn’t a joke, it’s a serious life choice, you’ve got to-”

“No, no, I definitely want a dog. There’s no doubt in my mind, I just… don’t know how to go about getting one.”

Levi sighed; whoever Erwin Smith was, he sounded pathetic. “Hold on, let me get a form.” He nudged the blonde puppy off his lap, urging him to go play with his siblings before pulling himself up to his desk, grabbing an adoption form and a pen. “Right, Erwin Smith--” Levi scrawled the name on the given line. “Age?”

“Oh, uh, 31.”

“Family?”

“Just me.”

“House or apartment?”

“Uh, house.”

“Garden?”

“Yes.”

“Job?”

“No.”

Levi paused, his pen hovering over the ‘employment’ box. “No job?”

“I have money, if that’s your concern.”

“Can you afford a dog?”

“Easily.”

Levi frowned. “Oh really?”

“I don’t… I don’t want to say I’m rich, but… I’m rich.”

“You’re rich? So why not buy a dog and avoid having to jump through my many hoops?”

“My therapist said a rescue dog would be more rewarding. And I’d bond with it better.”

“Right… Owned a dog previously?”

“When I was a kid. I’ve looked after friends’ dogs…”

Levi hummed noncommittally, writing several question marks on the page. “Right… I’ll have to assess your house and speak to someone who can give me a character reference before you can even step foot in my establishment, let alone adopt one of my dogs.”

“Oh, alright, that’s fine… I’m free pretty much all the time, so whenever’s best for you, and… I suppose I can give you my therapist’s number, she probably knows me best.”

“Oh.” Levi’s mind blanked, he didn’t recall ever having a potential customer be so cooperative; most people expected to be given a dog simply for enquiring. “Okay, well… I’ll just need your details then, your witness’ number and is tomorrow okay?”

* * *

Levi huffed, glancing at the piece of paper with Erwin’s address on before eyeing the house that sat atop a shallow incline, surrounded by acres of grass. Erwin had told him he was rich, but Levi hadn’t expected him to actually live in a mini-mansion. He pulled out his phone, keyed in Erwin’s number and hit ‘call’.

“Hello?”

“It’s Levi. I think I’m outside?”

Erwin chuckled. “You think?”

“It depends, is yours the frankly ostentatious castle with the fucking topiary swan in the garden?”

“My gardener is hoping to get into a new line of work, I said he could practice on my hedges.”

“The neck’s bent.”

“He’s not been doing it long. You coming up?”

Levi hummed, pinning his phone between his cheek and shoulder as he restarted the car. “Let me in then.”

“Of course, see you in a minute.”

Levi hung up, pulling his car back onto the road and turned up to Erwin’s drive just in time for the huge metal gates to slowly begin to open. He drove up to the house, parking outside the door; he was too busy looking over the grounds as he climbed out of his car that he didn’t notice the front door open and a large blond man slip outside.

“I do hope the garden is satisfactory; plenty of space for a dog to run around, no?”

Levi spun around, a witty retort on his tongue, bitten back the moment he set his eyes on the man in front of him. His mouth hung open, his brain willing himself to say something.

“Um, Erwin Smith,” the man smiled, taking a couple of steps closer. Levi cleared his throat, holding out his right hand.

“Right, yeah. I’m Levi.”

Erwin looked at the outstretched hand, a slight frown on his face. “Sorry, uh… can’t.”

Levi scowled, ready to give another witty remark when he noticed Erwin’s right sleeve was pinned up at his shoulder. “Oh shit. Sorry.”

Erwin chuckled, instead offering his left hand. “It’s fine, it’s surprising how many people don’t actually notice, sometimes even I don’t notice. I’ll go to pick something up and then realise that nothing’s happening.”

Levi forced a smile, giving Erwin a firm handshake before folding his arms over his chest. “Relatively recent development, then?”

“Just under two months, yeah. Anyway, would you like to tour the gardens or the house first?”

“Do you have any fruit or berry producing plants on your property?”

“Not that I know of?”

“The garden should be fine then.”

Erwin smiled, motioning for Levi to walk ahead of him. “Is there anything in particular you want to see first, or should I show you all over?”

“I don’t have all day,” Levi huffed. Erwin laughed, gently placing his hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, steering him towards the kitchen. The kitchen was, as Levi anticipated, huge; plenty of room for at least ten large dogs with counters high enough to prevent a dog jumping up and snatching any food.

“So?” Erwin asked, leaning against a counter, watching Levi amble around.

“Do you keep any food in the lower cupboards?”

Erwin shook his head. “Only crockery, glassware, pans… all food is in the fridge or pantry.”

“Where would you store dog food?”

“Uh… not in the lower cupboards? I’ll find somewhere.”

Levi nodded, mentally noting everything down. “Right. Next room?”

Erwin led Levi through his large home, accepting any criticism or advice with a smile and a nod of the head. Levi was quietly impressed with Erwin’s ability to tolerate his abrasive personality; usually at this point customers were fuming, giving him back a piece of their own minds, telling him where he could shove his dog-friendly furniture. He’d already decided Erwin’s mansion was fit to home a dog of any breed, but he still found himself wandering around with the blond to learn more about the quiet man who didn’t mind Levi’s unnecessary comments about the gross colour scheme of the tea room, or the fact that no actual human had a _tea room_.

“Where else am I supposed to drink tea?” Erwin chuckled. Levi _tch_ -ed and walked ahead, rolling his eyes.

“Fucking crazy,” Levi muttered, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket and checking the time. “I think I’m done here. Get onto those alterations I mentioned, I’ll be calling your witness later tonight and I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

Erwin smiled broadly, walking beside Levi to lead him to the front door. “I look forward to it… Say everything goes well, how long until I can actually meet the dogs?”

“Assuming everything goes in your favour and you’re really lucky, you can have your first meeting in three days.”

“First meeting?”

“You don’t get to pick a dog and walk out with it. My dogs have all been through tough times, I need to know they’ll react well to you and that there’s potential for an actual bond to develop. You’ll have to come down several times to meet the dogs before I let you pick one.”

Erwin nodded. “That’s fair. Well, I suppose I’ll be hearing from you.”

Levi allowed Erwin to pull the door open before offering his hand -- his left, this time. “I want to say it was a pleasure but your house is much too big. And that fucking tea room…”

Erwin laughed, giving Levi’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, I thought we had a nice afternoon. Maybe one day you can come round and I’ll show you how nice the tea room actually is.”

“Don’t count on it, that room is gross… Anyway, goodbye.”

“Drive safe.”

Levi finally pulled his hand from Erwin’s, giving him one last look over before turning to walk to his car. He tried not to pay too much attention to the fact that Erwin hadn’t moved from the door and still had an endeared smile on his face. He took a deep breath, sticking his keys into the ignition, resolutely not looking in Erwin’s direction as he pulled away.

* * *

Levi felt at home at the shelter, sitting on his office floor with his dogs. Despite his penchant for cleanliness, he didn’t mind the mess his dogs made; the hairs they left behind, the slobber, their muddy tracks; it was all too endearing to him.

He sat with his back against the sofa, Mike -- the Bloodhound -- snoring behind him, sprawled over the cushions, Hanji crawling about in his lap like the crazy mutt she was.

“One of you is going to be going soon,” Levi sighed, scratching Hanji under her chin, wincing when she misplaced a paw as she tried to climb up his chest. “Not you, obviously. You’re fucking crazy, no one will want to adopt you.”

Hanji let out a happy woof, pushing her wet nose against Levi’s throat. Levi smirked.

“Who do you think Erwin’s going to pick? Maybe Connie.”

Hanji whined, scratching her paws on Levi’s shirt.

“No… What about Mike? He’d fit in well in Erwin’s gross tea room… He has a disgusting tea room, Hanji.”

Hanji yipped upon hearing her name, her tail wagging even faster.

“It’s been so long since one of you got adopted… It was Moblit…” He frowned at Hanji’s sudden change in emotion, her tail had stopped wagging, her eyes looked up at him with a definite sadness. He gave her a reassuring rub behind the ears. “I know, you miss him. I’m sorry he had to go… Maybe we should tell Erwin he’s not allowed a dog, just to keep everyone here.”

Hanji woofed, leaping from Levi’s lap, catching her leg on Levi’s foot as she sprawled out on the floor in front of him, tail still wagging ridiculously fast. Levi smirked, giving her a gentle push with his foot.

“You’re a fucking idiot dog.”

* * *

Levi paced restlessly up and down the kennel, most of his dogs yipping and whining around him. Erwin was due to arrive at any moment and he was eager to see how the giant of a man would get on with his dogs. He’d sent all the volunteers home, not wanting their presence to influence how the dogs reacted to Erwin; his desire for one of his dogs to finally be homed and properly loved overriding his discomfort in letting one of them go.

The ringing of the alarm at the front of the shop sprang him from his thoughts. He took a deep breath, smoothing down his work clothes and marched towards the reception area. Erwin was stood in the middle of the floor looking around at the bare walls, his clothes suitably casual for a meeting with overenthusiastic dogs; Levi gave him bonus points for not being slumped over the desk like some of the customers he’d had.

“Erwin.”

Erwin’s mouth broke into a grin as he turned to see Levi offering his left hand. “Levi!”

Levi took it, squeezing it rather than shaking.

“Are you ready?”

At Erwin’s nod, Levi turned to lead him through the doors he’d just come through; Erwin kept quiet as Levi led him down several corridors until they reached a heavy duty door.

“This is it?” Erwin breathed. Levi nodded, pulling out his keys.

“Last chance.”

“Will you think less of me if I tell you how excited I am?”

“I couldn’t possibly think less of you,” Levi smirked, turning the key in the lock.

“I’m going to pretend that was a compliment.”

Levi pushed the door open, motioning for Erwin to walk in ahead of him. “I’ll let you meet the friendliest first, then the puppies, then the more damaged souls.”

“You have puppies?”

“Three, from the same litter. But later, after the idiot dogs.”

Erwin smirked, following Levi down the centre of the kennel. Some of the dogs continued barking happily, some barked territorially, and a few retreated to the back of their kennel. Levi stopped suddenly, reaching out to unlock the chain coiled around one of the cage doors. The moment the door was opened a little pug rushed out, jumping at Levi’s feet. Levi crouched down to scratch it behind the ears.

“This is Connie. We estimate him to be about, maybe three? He runs into screen doors and barks at his own shadow.”

Erwin chuckled crouching down too, gently reaching out to stroke the pug. “Does he have a tragic backstory?”

“Fortunately, no. His owner was an elderly woman, she had a stroke and was unable to look after him.”

Connie continued to bounce about happily, pressing into all of Erwin’s strokes and clambering at his knees. Levi eventually grabbed him round the middle, aimed him towards his kennel and gave him a gentle shove.

“That was Connie. Next is Sasha.”

Levi quickly locked Connie’s cage and unlocked the one next to it. Before opening the door, he held out a dog treat; Erwin took the hint and held out his hand, letting Levi drop the treat into his palm. “Brace yourself.”

Erwin moved down onto his knees, not wanting the next dog to send him backwards with one less arm to brace his fall. Levi pulled the door open and almost instantly a brown, fluffy dog darted out of the kennel and launched itself at Erwin, inhaling the treat from his hand.

“The easiest way to get Sasha to warm to you is to feed her. She’s a bottomless pit.”

Erwin smiled, letting Sasha continue to lick his hand as if there was still food there. “She’s beautiful.”

“She’s a field spaniel, and Connie’s best friend; new volunteers have to watch out for them.”

Sasha finally stopped licking Erwin’s hand and began sniffing up his leg and around his back. Erwin wiped his hand on his jeans, ready to bury his fingers in her fur when she came back round. Levi leant against the cage, arms folded over his chest, a hint of a smile on his face. He always felt a slight tugging at his heart when people bonded with his dogs, but with Erwin it felt stronger. He let Erwin play with Sasha for a while longer before herding her back into her cage. He watched Erwin pull himself to his feet out of the corner of his eyes as he locked the cage door shut.

“Are they all as feisty as that?”

“Hanji definitely is, and two of the three puppies are.”

Erwin’s eyes brightened. “Is it time to meet the puppies?”

Levi nodded, leading the way back up towards the entrance. He unlocked the cage door and waved for Erwin to get in. Erwin eyed him carefully as he ducked his head down to slip into the cage, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when Levi followed, pulling the door closed behind him.

“The pillow’s clean. Well, it’s not been pissed on. Sit down.”

Erwin nodded, lowering himself down onto the pillow in the corner as Levi moved to the far end where three smaller cages contained three labrador puppies. Levi let the blonde one out first, lifting the puppy out and placing it down onto Erwin’s lap.

“I’ll let you get a feel for them all separately, otherwise they’ll just ignore you and fight  with each other. This one’s Armin; they were all the runts of their litter but Armin moreso.”

Erwin cradled the puppy in his large hand, scratching under his neck and behind his ears as Armin whined happily. “Where’d you get these guys?”

“At the side of the road in a box. I didn’t know people actually did that.”

Armin began pawing his way up Erwin’s chest, nipping at his fingers every time he went to stroke him.

“He’s shy at first but very excitable. No where near as much as Eren, but… you’ll see.”

Erwin smiled, happily playing with the puppy on his lap, occasionally throwing a dorky grin in Levi’s direction. Levi resolutely stared at Erwin’s feet, not wanting to be swept away in the blond’s charm. After a couple of minutes he pulled Armin back into his arms, placing him back down in his cage before scooping up the black lab.

“This is Mikasa. She’s not so much shy as she is untrusting of new people.”

Erwin gently let her find her own footing in his lap, holding his hand out for her to inspect and sniff.

“She’ll probably trust you more if she smells Armin on you,” Levi said, crouching next to Erwin and running his fingers through Mikasa’s fur. She took a while longer to warm to Erwin than Armin had; carefully sniffing his hand and clothes, pawing up his chest before giving his chin a tentative lick. Erwin chuckled, finally scratching the puppy behind the ears, smiling as her tail began wagging.

“I like her.”

“Yeah, she’s great… You ready for Eren?”

“Sure.”

Levi picked Mikasa up around the middle. “You may want to adjust your junk, because he will jump on your dick, and it will hurt.”

Erwin laughed, brushing his hand through his hair. “Thanks for the warning.”

“I mean it.” Levi dropped Mikasa back into her cage and dropped his hands into the last one. Eren had been barking and whimpering ever since Erwin had set foot in the cage; the addition of Levi’s hands to his cage caused him to get even more excited. Levi managed to grab the brown puppy and pulled it to his chest, keeping a tight hold to stop him wriggling away.

“He’s very… Active…”

Levi snorted, carefully edging closer. “He’s fucking crazy… I’m serious about your dick, by the way; I had to learn the hard way.”

Erwin frowned, holding out his hand to take the squirming puppy. “Right. I’ll be careful.”

Levi rolled his eyes and carefully handed  Eren over, keeping a hold in case he suddenly jumped out of Erwin’s hand and hurt himself. The puppy continued to yap and squirm, trying his hardest to nibble on Erwin’s fingers. Erwin chuckled, managing to keep a firm grip on Eren, cradling him against his chest for extra support.

“He’s adorable.”

Levi smirked. “Not for extended periods of time, he’s not.”

Erwin let the puppy gnaw on his shirt as he gently scratched behind his ears, carding his fingers through the soft fur. After a while of petting and scratching, Eren began to calm down, and stopped squirming enough to let Erwin rest him down on his lap.

“You’re doing really well with him,” Levi commented.

“Yeah?”

“I daren’t say you’d even be able to tame Annie.”

Erwin looked up into Levi’s eyes, a curious smile on his face. “Oh?”

“She’s a whippet. She’d been abused quite bad, she’s very untrusting of humans.”

“Oh…”

“I’m not sure if there’s any point in you meeting her… Maybe if you got Reiner to like you.”

Erwin nodded, idly stroking Eren on his lap. “Who’s Reiner?”

Levi let out a sigh, slowly lowering himself to sit beside Erwin, reaching to scratch Eren behind the ears. “Reiner and Bertholdt are greyhounds -- racing dogs; and being racing dogs, abuse kind of comes with the job. They had the same owner so came in together… Bert was treated worse than Reiner and is still very skittish... He’ll warm up to people eventually, but it really takes a while… Reiner is Bert’s ‘protector’, if you will. If you threaten Bert, it’s Reiner you’ll have to deal with.

“As for Annie, she’s also an ex-racing dog and was abused worse than Bert. However instead of getting scared, she gets aggressive -- she won’t let you back her into a corner. When she came in she isolated herself; wouldn’t let me or any volunteers near her. Eventually she began to warm up to Bert, so now the three of them are pretty inseparable. Annie doesn’t particularly like Reiner -- they’re too alike, but I can’t home any without the others…”

Erwin nodded in understanding, knocking his knee against Levi’s. “So, why would I need to impress Reiner?”

“No one gets to Bert without Reiner’s approval, and no one gets to Annie until Bert is comfortable with them. You have to work your way down the line, starting with Reiner.”

“Ah, got it… It’s disgusting what people do to animals.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Levi muttered. “Wait until you meet Marco… Are you ready to move on or do you want to play with this idiot a while longer?”

Erwin chewed on his lip, flopping Eren’s ear back and forth. “Can we come back?”

Levi chuckled to himself, lifting Eren from Erwin’s lap. “Sure. Everyone loves the puppies.”

“Well, they _are_ adorable.” Erwin pulled himself up to his feet, brushing the moulted fur from his thighs and chest. “What’s next?”

Levi gently petted Eren’s head as he put him back in his cage. “Marco and Jean.”

“Okay. Lead the way.”

Levi rested his hand on Erwin’s back, ushering him out of the cage, pausing to lock it up. They walked back down to the end of the kennels, where Levi stopped and motioned to the end cage.

“Where are they?”

“Probably hiding. Be very careful, Marco is a little skittish and Jean’s very protective,” Levi warned, unlocking the cage. Erwin nodded, keeping behind Levi just in case. Levi carefully edged into the cage, crouching down. “Marco. C’mon Marco…”

There was a quiet whining from around the corner, and the sounds of paws scratching against the wall.

“Come on, Marco, come out… You too, Jean.”

A few moments later, a slightly scruffy looking grey dog peered its head round the corner. When it recognised Levi it began to pad closer, snuffling the ground warily.

“Come on, Jean,” Levi said quietly, holding out his hand. Jean lifted his head, nudging Levi’s hand with his snout and sniffed loudly; Levi smirked, moving his hand to scratch Jean behind the ears. “You’re a big softy, really, aren’t you,” Levi muttered, encouraging him to come closer, letting him paw up his knees.

“Can I come in?” Erwin asked, still hovering outside the cage. Levi nodded, moving to the side so Erwin could come in.

“Move slowly, and get low until Jean’s okay with you.”

Erwin did as he was told, getting down on one knee beside Levi; Levi grabbed Erwin’s hand and held it out towards Jean.

“Flatten your palm.”

Erwin uncurled his fingers, letting Jean nudge his palm with his nose.

“He won’t bite, just keep still.”

Jean kept snuffling at Erwin’s hand for a while until he finally lowered his head, nudging the top of his head against his palm. Erwin smiled, scratching his fingers in the dog’s fur.

“There you go,” Levi said, finally letting go of Erwin’s hand, nervously wiping his palm on his trousers. “I’ll go get Marco.” He slowly pulled himself to his feet so as not to startle Jean and moved towards the end of the cage, holding out his hand again. Erwin watched as a small dog slowly made its way towards Levi, hesitating after every step, sniffing the air until its nose bumped against Levi’s hand. Levi chuckled, brushing his hand down Marco’s back several times before gathering him in his arms, carrying him over to Erwin and Jean. Erwin smiled when Jean began bouncing at Levi’s feet excitedly, barking, and sitting back on his haunches, pawing the air at Levi.

“Yeah, I’ve got your buddy, calm down, brat,” Levi sighed, carefully lowering himself to one knee. Jean instantly began snuffling at Marco, nudging their faces together. “You want Marco, you’ll be getting Jean, too.”

Erwin chuckled, stroking Jean as he continued showering Marco with affection, licking the side of his face. “I don’t think it’d be a problem. They seem very close.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason why. Can you hold Jean a minute?”

Erwin nodded, managing to wrangle Jean onto his lap, running his fingers through his short fur to keep him calm. Levi shifted Marco in his arms, moving him so Erwin could see the dog’s right side, or what was left of it. Erwin grimaced, his hand suddenly stopping.

“What happened?”

Levi scowled, gently rubbing the top of Marco’s head. “His owners thought it’d be funny to put him in a dog fighting ring; a staffie managed to bite his front leg almost off and the right side of his face was torn to pieces. The vets amputated, cleaned him up as much as possible.”

Erwin looked Marco over, wondering how he’d managed to miss the fact that he was one leg short. “That’s…”

“Disgusting, I know. Marco’s not a fighting dog. He was never bred to be one, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. The poor guy just had some gross scumbag for an owner… he’s in jail now, but… the damage is done.”

“Is he missing an eye?” Erwin asked, slowly reaching out to stroke the top of Marco’s head.

“Yeah, but he manages with what he’s got, and he’s got Jean to help him along. These two idiots have been as thick as thieves ever since Marco joined us.”

Silently, Erwin let go of Jean as Levi shifted Marco over, transferring him into Erwin’s arms. Marco let out a quiet whine as he was moved into unfamiliar arms but quietened when Jean began licking his snout. Erwin smiled, letting Marco get comfortable before running his hand down his back.

“What are they?”

Levi finally looked up from Marco, meeting Erwin’s eyes. “Their breeds? Jean’s a Blue Picardy Spaniel, and Marco’s three-quarters German Pinscher.”

Erwin nodded. “And one quarter…?”

“One quarter missing.”

Erwin chuckled, carefully tracing his fingers over the scarring down Marco’s right side. “That’s a bit dark.”

“You’ve got to laugh about it or else… He’s fine now. He’s missing a leg and an eye but other than that he’s just an ordinary dog. A bit skittish, sure, but he warms up to people very quickly.”

“Have you ever taken in a fighting dog?”

Levi shook his head, scrubbing his hands through Jean’s fur, messing it up so it stood up in all directions. “No. They’re too much of a risk. Most are too far gone, there’s no hope of rehabilitating them and they just have to be put down. Some there’s a chance you can calm them down but it takes a lot of time and effort, more than I have time for, and at the end there’s no guarantee they’ll be fully rehabilitated. Fighting dogs are bred to fight, and that’s it. They’re not safe for other dogs and people to be around; there’s a reason they’re usually kept on strong chains. I can’t risk bringing one in and it biting another dog, or even myself or a volunteer. I’ll leave it to other dog rehabilitation facilities. I’ve had fighting dogs pass through, but I always kept them in my office and passed them along as soon as possible.”

Erwin nodded, brow furrowed in understanding as he continued stroking Marco. “So, do you think fighting dogs are a lost cause?”

“Not all dogs, no, certainly not. With the right training and care any dog with emotional problems can be homed. It’s been proven to happen but I try not to concern myself with that aspect of dog rescue, it makes me angry and I hate people enough. I focus on these poor creatures who are a little broken but easy enough to fix. Most are just idiots who need a decent home.”

“Like this one?” Erwin chuckled, as Jean tried to climb onto his lap and sit on top of Marco. Levi smirked, moving closer until his knees pressed against Erwin’s as he reached to stroke Marco.

“Exactly.”

“So. Package deal?”

Levi nodded, helping Marco hop over to sit on his lap. “Yeah. Like Sasha and Connie, they’re best friends. Unlike Sasha and Connie, you have to take both of them. They need each other, they’re not dependant on each other, but…”

“They need each other. I get it,” Erwin smiled. “Everyone needs someone, clearly the same is true for dogs.”

“Don’t let their cute exteriors fool you, though. Beneath this innocent cuteness they can be real assholes. Mainly Jean. He likes to sit on Marco’s head sometimes, and Marco will chew on anything if you leave him alone long enough.”

Erwin chuckled, trying to rub Jean’s head without letting the dog lick him, waving his hand back and forth. “Sits on his head?”

“And Marco does nothing about it, he just sits there and takes it. Idiot.”

The two men sat playing with the dogs for a while longer, laughing at their idiocy as Jean slipped off Erwin’s lap and wandered into the wall. Levi occasionally found himself watching the way Erwin’s eyes would light up whenever Marco licked his hand, or admiring the brightness of his smile whenever Jean got too excited and tripped over his own legs. He quickly averted his eyes down to his lap whenever Erwin caught him staring, feeling his cheeks burn as Erwin chuckled.

“So, shall we move on to the last two?”

Erwin shrugged, grinning up at Levi. “Sure. After you, I suppose.”

Levi nodded, ushering Marco and Jean back into their corner and held out his hand to help Erwin up. Erwin flashed him another smile as he took it, giving it a gentle squeeze once he’d gotten to his feet. Levi snatched his hand back and hurried out of the cage, waiting for Erwin to exit too so he could lock it behind them.

“So who are we meeting now?”

“Christa and Ymir… They’re a package deal too.” Levi stopped suddenly, turning to face Erwin before motioning towards the cage next to him. “Before we meet them, here’s Reiner.”

Erwin peered into the cage to see another slightly smaller cage which contained a yellow greyhound watching them carefully. He began growling the longer Erwin looked at him; Erwin frowned, looking towards Levi.

“Like I said, Reiner’s very protective,” Levi said, curling his hand around Erwin’s arm, making a mental note to not give it a squeeze, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Where’s Bert?”

“Hiding back there somewhere with Annie… Come on, the longer you stare the more agitated Reiner will get.” Levi gave Erwin’s arm a quick tug, pulling him behind him as he continued to lead the way. They finally came to a stop outside the cage beside Sasha’s, which like Reiner’s, had a smaller cage inside. Levi went in first, opening the outer cage and then the inner cage. Almost instantly a doberman appeared in front of Levi, easily reaching past his waist, and it was probably taller than him on its hind legs. Levi rolled his eyes, carefully patting the dog on the head and giving it a quick scratch behind the ears.

“Be good, Ymir. No growling. He’s not taking Christa away from you, alright?” Levi edged his way around the doberman towards the pillowy dog bed and the ball of fluff curled up on top of it. He carefully picked it up, holding it out for Ymir to inspect. Ymir followed at Levi’s heels as he slowly began to walk back towards the cage entrance. As he got to the outer cage he turned back to the doberman, holding out his hand to make it stop. “Stay. Don’t move.”

The doberman sat down, keeping a watchful eye on Levi as he shut the inner cage and jerked his head for Erwin to join him. Erwin hesitantly let himself into the cage, trying to ignore the immediate low growling coming from Ymir. Levi rolled his eyes, holding out the much smaller dog in his arms.

“Ignore her. She just doesn’t like strangers around Christa.”

Erwin nodded, scratching a finger beneath Christa’s chin. The small, fluffy dog arched into his touch, snuffling at his hand when he held it out for her. Behind them, Ymir began barking and whining angrily.

“Christa’s easy, she’s a little princess. Ymir is…”

“Difficult?” Erwin offered.

“She’s more protective of Christa than Reiner, Annie, and Jean combined. You don’t have long to pet Christa before Ymir gets really worked up.”

Erwin nodded, carding his fingers through Christa’s soft fur, smiling as she tried to roll over in Levi’s hands but found it difficult. Levi smirked, trying his best to accommodate her without dropping her.

“So what is she?” Erwin asked, rubbing Christa’s tummy as she flopped her head backwards, her legs in the air.

“Papillon. The kind of dog you see stuffed into some Beverly Hills airhead’s purse… I’m not sure if I’d let you adopt her, you might sit on her and kill her.”

Erwin chuckled, trying to give Levi an unimpressed glare, but he couldn’t manage it. “Thanks.”

“Don’t get insulted, it’s not my fault you’re a fucking giant.”

“I’m hardly a giant.”

“To me you are… anyway, I’ll put her back now before Ymir tears through the wire. You need to step out and close the cage door behind you.”

Erwin nodded, giving Christa one last tummy rub before doing as Levi said. Levi carefully put Christa down and backed away, pulled open the other cage door and stood behind it. Ymir instantly rushed out, circling Christa several times, sniffing her and nudging her with her snout. Uncaring of Ymir’s overbearing attention, Christa pranced back into the cage towards her bed, Ymir obediently following behind her. Levi shut the cage door once they were inside, locking it before joining Erwin back in the aisle.

“I suppose that’s all of them,” Levi said, looping the chain around the door to Ymir and Christa’s cage. Erwin nodded, chewing his lip.

“What about those ones?” he asked, pointing to the cage opposite the puppies. Levi frowned, looking towards the cage.

“Oh, those… they’re not really up for adoption.”

“Why?”

Levi didn’t answer, instead slowly making his way towards the exit.

“Levi?”

“Go wait in my office. I’ll be right through,” Levi replied, pulling a key from the fob, holding it out for Erwin. “Don’t touch anything. Just sit down and be good.”

Erwin smirked, plucking the key from Levi’s fingers, letting his pinky brush his knuckles. “Okay, sir.”

Levi felt his face burn as Erwin moved past him through the door. He took a moment to compose himself before turning to the final cage and pulled out the key to unlock it. Hanji barreled into his legs the moment the door was opened. Levi smirked and knelt down, burying his fingers in her messy fur.

“You’ve got to help me, Hanji. Erwin is flirting with me. He’s a nazi poster boy with huge biceps and cheekbones I’m sure he sold his soul for and he’s fucking flirting with me.”

Hanji yapped happily, rubbing her face against Levi’s knee. Levi sighed, scratching down her neck to her soft spot.

“He’s kind of perfect, Hanji. What do I do?” Levi looked up to see Mike slowly plodding out of the cage, yawning loudly, letting Levi get a good view down his throat. “Come on, then. Let’s show Erwin the resident nutcases.”

Hanji happily followed at Levi’s ankles, almost tripping him. Levi paused to tuck Mike’s long ears into his collar, knowing he’d stumble over them as he followed him through to Levi’s office. Hanji launched herself at Erwin the moment she got into Levi’s office, bouncing up onto the sofa, pawing up Erwin’s chest to lick his face. Erwin laughed, pushing her back down his chest to get a look at the dog that had suddenly attacked him.

“That’s Hanji,” Levi said, leaning back against his desk, watching Erwin try to handle Hanji. “She’s a mutt, and a crazy one at that. She’s not up for adoption, she’s too… temperamental. It’s almost as if she has a doggy-schizophrenia.”

Erwin smiled, subtly trying to cover his crotch with his arm as Hanji jumped about on his lap. He felt the sofa beside him dip suddenly and before he could look to see what it was, a very wet nose pressed against the side of his head, snuffling loudly. Levi tried to restrain a grin as Mike snuffled down the side of Erwin’s face and down his neck, smearing wet as he went, Erwin trying his best to not let his grimace show.

“And that’s Mike. He has no sense of personal space and will invade it most of the time to smell you, which would normally be fine if he wasn’t a dog that slobbers all the time.”

Erwin nodded, wiping the side of his face and gave Mike a quick scratch under his chin before Hanji demanded his attention again. “Why’s he not up for adoption?”

Levi shrugged, stalking towards the sofa, perching on the arm to Erwin’s right. “He’s old and comfortable, he’s in the early stages of arthritis. He’s happy here. No point trying to get him adopted when he’s not interested in leaving.”

“That’s fair… So they’re essentially, _your_ dogs?”

“I suppose so.”

Erwin smiled up at Levi, ruffling his fingers through Hanji’s fur. “It’s a great place you’ve got here, Levi. You genuinely care for your dogs.”

Levi quirked his lips at the corner, holding out his hand for Hanji to come to him. “Makes a change from some places who’ll give their dogs to any old fuckwit who comes in off the streets.”

Erwin nodded, settling back against the cushions as Hanji focused her attention on Levi. “You have standards, and you stick to them… I respect that.”

Levi gave a curt nod, distracting himself by burying his fingers in Hanji’s fur. “Thank you.”

“Am I worthy enough to adopt one of your dogs?”

“Perhaps. We’ll see how things go.”

“You know you don’t have to give me a dog.”

“No, I know… I know, but…”

Erwin smiled, scrubbing the top of Mike’s head with his fingers as the bloodhound lay it down on his lap. “But?”

Levi shrugged, refusing to look Erwin in the eye. “But… I don’t know… I think…”

“Don’t strain yourself.”

“Go fuck yourself. If you want a dog you’ll be fucking nice to me.”

Erwin chuckled, curling Mike’s ears around his fingers. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“How about I buy you dinner?”

Levi felt his heart lurch in his chest, his stomach dropping as he comprehended what Erwin had just said to him. His hands continued their petting of Hanji only after she whined and pressed her snout against his stomach. Levi finally looked up at Erwin, scowling at the almost smug look on the blonde’s face. “What the fuck, Erwin? You think you’re so smooth?!”

Erwin’s grin widened;  resting his head against the back of the sofa, he gazed over at Levi. “Not really… Was that a no?”

Levi’s face burned as he averted his gaze again. “...No.”

“No it wasn’t a no? Or no to the dinner?”

“...No.”

Erwin chuckled quietly to himself, gently stroking his hand down the length of Mike’s back. “Okay.”

The office fell quiet, the only sounds being Hanji’s panting and Mike’s soft snoring. Levi chewed his lip as he played with Hanji, seeing if he could get her to fall off the sofa ‘accidentally’ to diffuse the tension surrounding himself and Erwin. Erwin meanwhile, was happy to sit in silence, stroking Mike monotonously, his gaze fixed on Levi.

“I’m sorry. I’ve made things awkward, haven’t I?” Erwin asked, no hint of remorse in his voice. Levi rolled his eyes, still refusing to look up.

“Yes, you have. Thank you.”

“Should I leave?”

Levi let out a long breath through his nose, his hands stilling for a moment as he thought. “You don’t have to.”

“Do you want me to?”

“What’s with the leading questions? I thought you wanted a dog, not a date.”

Erwin smirked, lowering his head to see if he could catch Levi’s attention. “Can’t I want both?”

“No… You don’t even know me.”

“That’s why people date, Levi… To get to know each other.”

Levi groaned, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Hanji’s. “Erwin-”

“It’s okay. I don’t want to pressure you.”

“You’re not-”

“I won’t bother you about it again.”

Levi cursed himself mentally, simultaneously not wanting to volunteer the information that he would actually like to date Erwin very much, despite having known each other for only a short amount of time, but also not wanting the moment to pass by without telling him. They sat in another awkward silence for a while longer before Erwin cleared his throat, gently lifting Mike’s head from his lap.

“I should probably get going.”

“Oh, right… Somewhere to be?”

Erwin shook his head, slowly pulling himself to his feet. “Not really, but I figure you have things to be doing and I’ve already been here for quite a while and…” Erwin trailed off, reaching to scratch Mike under his chin. Levi cleared his throat awkwardly, pushing Hanji from his lap to stand up himself.

“Right, yeah. It’s not like I spend most of my time in my office playing with the dogs anyway…”

Erwin chuckled, brushing himself down and watched stray hairs float down to the floor. “I envy your life, Levi.”

“No you don’t. When you get pissed on as much as I do, no one envies your life.”

“Anyway…”

Levi moved around Erwin to the door of his office, straightening out his shirt. “Yeah, you were going. Um… I’ll walk you out.”

Erwin gave Hanji a quick farewell scratch behind her ears before following Levi out of the office and down to reception; once there they awkwardly edged around each other. Levi opened his mouth, ready to say something but decided against it, barely glancing up past Erwin’s chest. He suddenly stuck out his left hand, putting on his most professional smile-grimace.

“Thank you.”

Erwin smiled warmly, taking Levi’s hand in his. “No, thank you, Levi. I look forward to hearing from you, you’ve got my number.”

Levi nodded, debating whether or not to pull his hand free. “I’ll call you to set up a date… for you to see the dogs again, not to--well… I’ll call you.”

“I suppose I’ll see you around then.” Erwin gave Levi’s hand another squeeze before turning to leave, only looking back to give him a dorky grin. Once he’d gotten into his car Levi let himself slump back against the desk, scrunching his fingers in his hair.

“Fuck. I’m such a fucking idiot. Fucking fuck! Why’s he so attractive?! What a piece of shit!” Levi stomped back towards his office, muttering about Erwin under his breath. “When should I even call him?! Tonight is too soon, I don’t want to seem desperate to that big-ass tree… but this isn’t a date!”

Hanji jumped up at Levi, pawing at his trousers insistently until he leant down to pet her.

“What should I do, Hanji?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally got chapter 2 beta'd!! Sorry for the long wait; my beta has been busy and I'm not abouts to nag them all the time to read through my fic, and I'd rather it be looked over than me just posting it with all the mistakes... But, wait's over! Chapter 2 is finally here, and the next and final chapter shouldn't be too far behind (hope. HOPE. Fingers crossed). Anyway, enjoy...

Levi had been sat in his office for almost an hour staring at his phone, the form with Erwin’s number on it laid out in front of him. He knew he had to plan out what he wanted to say, had to create a mental script to stick to because he knew, for some reason, he couldn’t control himself around Erwin. He knew if he didn’t stick to his script Erwin would make him veer off topic and they’d chat, and he would more than likely blurt out things he’d rather Erwin not know.

Levi took a deep breath and picked up the phone, slowly but methodically dialing Erwin’s number, pinning the phone between his cheek and shoulder whilst he wiped his clammy hands on his trousers. He grimaced when he held them out for inspection and they were covered in hairs. The phone continued ringing; Levi worried Erwin wasn’t going to pick up, annoyed he’d spent so long gearing himself up only for the blond idiot to not even pick up his call. Just as he was about to give up and put the phone down, a very out of breath Erwin answered.

“Hi Erwin, it’s Levi, um… What were you doing?”

Erwin chuckled, taking a deep breath before answering. “Building a wardrobe.”

“With one arm?!”

“I’m kidding. I was in the kitchen.”

Levi cleared his throat, already irritated he’d gone off track. “Anyway, I’m ringing to organise another meeting.”

“Oh good. I’ve just got this one and then one more, right?”

“That’s usually how it goes. Are there any times not good for you?”

“Nope, I’m free pretty much all the time. I could come over now if you wanted.”

Levi scrunched his eyes shut, telling himself not to get sucked up into Erwin’s charm. “No, no, now’s not really a good time, um-”

“Why not?”

“There’s just an issue that we’re dealing with but back to-”

“What issue? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, there’s just a stray cat that’s appeared on the property; it’s the nastiest piss-baby I’ve ever encountered and it’s being a dick to some of the gentler dogs. I’ve got a couple of volunteers trying to grab it.”

Erwin hummed sympathetically. “Are the dogs okay?”

“Dogs are fine, though Eren may be a little distrusting of cats for a while. Anyway, your meeting, stop distracting me.”

“I’m sorry, go on, when do you want me?”

Levi sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “You are not nearly as smooth as you think you are, Erwin Smith.”

Erwin chuckled, Levi could detect the teasing lilt to it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Go on, my meeting.”

“I’m seriously reconsidering letting you come back, you know.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll stop flirting.”

“Your meeting, if I don’t change my mind in the next two minutes, will be tomorrow, okay?”

“Tomorrow’s great… Unless this is your way of getting this over and done with as quickly as possible.”

Levi managed a smile, leaning back in his seat. “I’d considered it.”

“You wound me, Levi.”

“I try.”

“I thought you’d taken a liking to me.”

“I thought you weren’t going to ask me out again.”

“I haven’t… Yet.”

Levi groaned, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. “Erwin-”

“I know. Sorry. So tomorrow, same time as last time?”

“Sure. See you then.”

“See you tomorrow, Levi.”

Levi hung up and put the phone down, slowly leaning down to rest his head on his desk. “I am so fucked,” he muttered.

\--

When Erwin arrived at the kennels, Levi was ready and waiting for him. Grinning, Erwin casually pushed his hair back from his face from where the wind had blown it out of place. Levi had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself blurting out how much he wanted to mess up Erwin’s perfect blond hair - in bed.

“How are you, Levi?” Erwin asked, slipping his coat from his shoulders. Levi shrugged, reaching out to take Erwin’s coat.

“Been better, been worse.” He stepped behind the reception desk to hang up Erwin’s coat before moving towards the door that led to the kennels. “You ready?”

“So ready.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Levi muttered, hiding his smirk as he unlocked the door. Erwin chuckled, stepping up behind Levi and carefully rest his large hand on his shoulder, not missing the way the smaller man suddenly tensed beneath his touch.

“You don’t mean that, Levi.”

“I definitely mean it… Don’t touch me, I don’t know where you’ve been.”

Erwin chuckled again and let go of Levi, letting him lead the way down the corridors. When they got into the kennels, the dogs began barking and jumping at the front of their cages, trying to get Levi’s attention. Levi rolled his eyes, ignoring them and turned to Erwin, his arms folded across his chest.

“Who do you want to see?”

“Who do I want to see?”

“Obviously. You’ve met the ones you can possibly adopt, so who’s it going to be?”

“Oh, I didn’t realise we were at that stage, I thought you were still introducing me to them.”

Levi shook his head, idly playing with his keys. “No, you’ve met the ones that are ready. Annie, Reiner, and Bert still have some adjusting to do… I’d suggest Marco and Jean or the puppies for you, personally.”

“Puppies as in… all three?”

“You want to split them up?”

“God no, but, you think I can handle all three?”

“If I didn’t think you could I wouldn’t suggest it… So I’ll ask again, who’s it going to be?”

Erwin shrugged, helplessly looking at all the dogs barking and jumping and pawing at their cages. “I don’t know. I want them all.”

“Not happening.” Levi watched as Erwin struggled to choose, frowning at the sad look in his eyes. He sighed, finally fed up of Erwin’s internal struggling. “Fine, stop worrying, you look like a kicked puppy. I’m half tempted to stick you in a cage of your own.”

Erwin’s face suddenly brightened as he turned to look at Levi. “Oh?”

“Do you want to hang out with the dogs some more?”

“Can I?”

“That was the plan, but only with the ones you were planning on keeping. But seeing as a 31 year-old man can’t make a decision-”

“It’s a life changing decision, Levi, I can’t just pick a dog on a whim. I’ve got to be 100% sure it’s what I want. It’s not fair on the dog otherwise.”

Levi scowled. “Don’t throw my words back at me, asshole.”

Erwin smirked. “I’d apologise if I was sorry… If it makes things easier, your choices are my choices.”

“The puppies, and Marco and Jean?”

“Yeah.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Levi separated a key from the rest and led Erwin down to the end of the kennels, to Marco and Jean’s cage. The two dogs were less shy than the last time Erwin saw them; instead of hiding around the corner, Marco was laid on his back in the middle of the cage with Jean bouncing around him trying to bite his ear, whilst Marco tried to bat him away.

“They look nice and lively today,” Erwin smiled. Levi managed his own smile, unlocking the cage door. Jean and Marco stopped what they were doing; Jean instantly stood in front of Marco in a protective stance, watching Levi and Erwin carefully.

“Knock it off, Jean,” Levi sighed, reaching out towards the grey dog. Jean took several inquisitive sniffs of Levi’s hand before deeming him worthy of passing, and moved over to Erwin, snuffling at the legs of his trousers. Erwin smiled, crouching down to carefully run his hand through Jean’s fur. When Jean recognised Erwin’s scent he began trying to climb up his legs, nuzzling his neck and chin. Erwin grinned, looking up to see Levi rubbing Marco’s belly. His grin faded to a soft smile as he watched Levi play with the pinscher, a gentle smile on the smaller man’s lips.

Jean played with Erwin for a few moments until he noticed Marco was also getting attention and ran over to interrupt, jumping on top of Marco and pushing his head into Levi’s hands. Levi smirked, scrubbing his fingers through Jean’s fur before shoving him off Marco.

“You’re such a brat,” Levi muttered, helping Marco get back on his feet. Erwin wandered over to where Levi was crouched and sat next to him, encouraging Marco to crawl onto his lap. He glanced up at Levi, making sure he’d caught his eye before smiling; Levi rolled his eyes in response and turned his attention back to Jean. Marco happily positioned himself in Erwin’s lap and rested his head on his knee, letting Erwin monotonously run his hand down his back.

“He’s not going to sleep, is he?” Erwin asked. Levi looked down at Marco and shook his head.

“He’s just content. Congratulations, he likes you.”

“At least someone here likes me.”

“Shut up, Erwin.”

Erwin grinned, giving Marco a quick scratch behind his ears. The two men sat in  content silence playing with the dogs. Marco rarely left Erwin’s lap, only when he was forced from it by Jean climbing all over him in an attempt to get at Erwin’s face. Levi happily sat back watching Erwin try to juggle two dogs with one hand, glad Erwin was distracted enough to not notice the way he was blatantly staring at him, admiring the brightness in his blue eyes and the way his laugh made him feel lighter inside. He contemplated the pros and cons of giving in to Erwin’s advances; the pessimist in him arguing that nothing would come of it aside from hurt feelings and the knowledge that he’d given his dogs to an asshole, whilst the optimistic side of him made promises of fun dates that he wouldn’t look back on and cringe, and possibly the best sex he could ever have, and finally having a relationship that could actually go somewhere with someone he liked, and knowing he’d be doing it all with someone who loved and respected dogs as much as he did.

“Levi? Are you okay?”

Levi snapped back to the real world, glancing up at Erwin. “Hm?”

“Are you all right? You were spaced out.”

“Oh.”

“And staring at me.”

“Tch, I was not staring at you.”

Erwin chuckled, looking back down at the two dogs happily snuggled on his lap. “I don’t mind, Levi.”

“Yeah, I know you don’t mind, pervert.”

“I’m hardly a pervert.”

“You don’t get to decide that.”

Erwin turned his attention back to the dogs, smirking to himself. When he cast a quick glance up, Levi was still watching him. Levi’s cheeks burned as he hurried to avert his gaze. He quickly scanned the cage, making a mental note to give it a thorough clean when the dogs went outside. He looked down when Marco appeared at his knee, pawing softly at his leg. Levi smiled, petting the top of his head.

“Hey, buddy. Getting tired?”

Marco let out a quiet whine and nuzzled the side of his face against Levi, looking up at him sadly. Levi chuckled, gently picking him up and took him over to his corner where his bed and blankets were strewn about. He lay Marco down, making sure he wasn’t putting too much pressure on his bad side and reached to grab his favourite toy; an old ragdoll which had been chewed to the point where it wasn’t quite obvious it was supposed to resemble a human, especially since Levi had cut the yarn hair off it.

“Shall we let them settle down?” Erwin asked, letting Jean jump off his knee. Levi nodded, patting the bed next to Marco, encouraging Jean to jump up and snuggle next to his friend. He haphazardly tossed a blanket over them, letting them fight over it themselves and moved over to Erwin’s side, offering him a hand up.

“Are you ready for the puppies?” Levi asked, subtly trying to pull his hand from Erwin’s hold.

“I’m always ready for the puppies.”

“Right, come on then.”

Erwin let Levi’s hand slip from his own and followed him out of the cage, waiting by his side as he quickly locked it back up, before following him back towards the front of the kennels. He stopped when he heard an angry mewl and loud hissing. Between two empty cages, in a small cage of its own was a scraggly looking grey and black cat; it had one paw stretched out through the small gaps in the cage, hissing at Levi and baring its teeth.

“What’s that?” Erwin asked, wanting to take a step closer but unsure if he should. Levi huffed, motioning towards the cat.

“Remember that nasty piss-baby cat that was causing trouble that I told you about? Meet Nile, the nasty piss-baby.”

Erwin chuckled at Levi’s vocabulary and peered in at the cat, making sure not to get too close to its claws. “He’s so mangy, and angry. Why’s he here?”

“We called the pound and they’re full, so we’ve been sending out calls to other rescue centres and shit, and so far nothing. I’ve got to put up with this little shit until someone gets back to me.”

"He can't be that bad, surely. He looks a little beat up from being on the streets, but…”

Levi scowled, trying to pull Erwin’s attention back to him. “No. He’s gross. He scratched up the arm of the volunteer that caught him; he probably has to be treated for tetanus or something now. I hate cats, and I hate _that_ cat.”

Erwin smiled down at Levi. “We should cheer you up with puppies.”

“Yes, let’s cheer me up with puppies… Moron.”

Erwin chuckled, following Levi’s lead towards the cage containing the three puppies. Levi unlocked the cage, pausing in the doorway.

“We should take them to the office, there’s more space for them to run around and it’s nicer than sitting on a cold, hairy floor.”

“Shall I grab one?”

“Get ahold of Mikasa, she’ll be easier for you to handle.”

Erwin did as he was told, taking Mikasa from her own cage and waited for Levi to grab Armin and Eren. They left the kennels and walked down the corridors, through reception until they got to the corridor leading to Levi’s office. Levi gently put the puppies he was carrying down, ignoring them as they bounced at his feet as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

“Should I put Mikasa down?” Erwin asked, his thumb gently stroking Mikasa’s side as she lay placid in his large hand. Levi shrugged, trying to keep walking into his office without stepping on Eren or Armin.

“You can if you want, there’s nowhere for them to run off to now.”

Erwin nodded and crouched to let Mikasa down with her brothers, smiling as they instantly began jumping on each other and biting each others ears.

“This is what you’ll be getting if you take these three. And they’ll always be like this, even when they get bigger and older.”

“But they’re easy to train, right?”

“They’ve always that going for them; yeah, they’re very receptive, they’ll even train themselves if they needed. However if you did the training it’d be better; it’d also establish you as pack leader.”

Erwin nodded, genuinely interested in what Levi was saying, following him through to the office, mindful of where he stepped. “And if I took Marco and Jean?”

“All dogs can be retrained to suit their owners. You may fight with Jean for dominance a bit but he should submit soon enough. It’s Marco you might have trouble with, really. He’s not as ‘intelligent’ as a German Shepherd or a Collie, but it’s not impossible. He’s pretty docile, and he submits to Jean, so once Jean recognises you as alpha, he will.”

“So, who’s the alpha of these three?”

Levi smirked, trying his best to herd them all into the office. “Mikasa.”

“Not Eren?”

“Eren wishes he was, but no, Mikasa. It’s actually more common for the female to be the alpha of the pack, especially in domestic breeds.” Levi finally got the puppies into his office and shut the door behind them, before slinking over to the sofa and slumping down onto the floor. Eren immediately bounded over to him, clambering up onto his outstretched legs; Erwin smiled, looking around for somewhere to sit, eventually deciding to prop himself against the desk directly opposite Levi. He watched Armin bounce around happily by himself, struggling to fit under Levi’s bookcase but eventually managed to reach under enough to pull out a tug rope; he bounced about again, the toy in his mouth and stopped in front of Erwin, nudging him with the toy. Erwin reached out to grab one end of the toy, giving it a gentle tug, prompting Armin to pull back, growling playfully as he tried to tug the toy from Erwin’s grip.

Levi kept his head tilted down as he played with Eren, letting the brown puppy climb all over him and nip at his fingers, but he kept his gaze firmly fixed on Erwin. Everything about the situation felt right, and despite hating strangers, and people in general, he found himself enjoying Erwin’s company. There was something about an attractive man with one arm and an obvious fondness for dogs that had Levi hooked.

Levi decided, as he watched Erwin laugh and play with Armin, that he’d wait for Erwin to ask him out at least two more times before he accepted. He didn’t want to come across as desperate, or easy. He didn’t want Erwin to think he threw himself at every blond hunk that sauntered into his shelter.

Erwin glanced up, catching Levi’s gaze; his smile grew wider and toothier as he sat up and watched Levi’s cheeks redden. “Are you okay with Eren? He seems like quite a handful.”

Levi mentally thanked whatever God there was that Erwin hadn’t chosen to flirt instead, his resolve might have just broken at his stupid grin. “I’m doing a lot better than you would.”

Erwin laughed, encouraging Armin to roll onto his back. “I don’t suppose you’re wrong, there… What’s Mikasa up to? I can’t see her.”

“She’s got a chew-toy in the corner. She’s taking time to play by herself seeing as most of her day is spent with these idiots.”

“Yeah… they do seem quite tiring.”

Levi nodded, looking back down at the puppy vying for his attention. “Do you not think you could handle them?”

“Probably not. I’d give it a go, definitely! But... I don’t think it’d be fair on them. They look so energetic now, and they’re only going to get bigger and feistier. If I had two arms I’d probably be able to, but… y’know, I’m handicapped.”

Levi chuckled to himself. “You know, I think there’s a pun there somewhere, about arms…”

Erwin laughed, shaking his head. “I take back all of my offers of dates. I can’t date someone who makes puns.”

“Okay, A, I didn’t even make the pun, I just hinted at it. B, you fucking love puns, I can tell just by looking at you. And C, you seem quite confident I’d’ve said yes.”

“Point. Yes I do love puns, you got me. And yes, I am confident.”

“ _Very_ confident, for a man with one arm.”

Erwin smirked. “I make up for my loss elsewhere.”

Levi’s eyes widened, his shock evident on his face. “Okay. Wow… thanks for _that_ tidbit.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m curious now. It’s either over-ego or truth.”

“You’ll have to date me to find out.”

 _That was one_. Levi paused, wondering if he should make a comeback or let the subject die; he was stepping into dangerous territory, again. “Can’t we go back to part where you rescinded all date offers?” he finally said. Erwin chuckled, letting himself slouch back against the desk.

“I’d stop if I knew you didn’t actually like my attention.”

“What makes you think I like the attention you give me? Maybe I think you’re creepy,” Levi scoffed.

“If you thought I was creepy you wouldn't look at me the way you do.”

“That’s slander.”

“It’s only slander if it’s untrue.”

Levi rolled his eyes, keeping his mouth shut, knowing if he didn’t they’d end up talking in circles. After a few moments of silence and the two of them playing with the puppies, Levi decided to start a safer topic. “So, Marco and Jean, then?”

Erwin nodded, encouraging Armin to paw up his front. “Yeah. I feel an inexplicable bond with Marco… I can’t put my finger on it.”

“It’s because you’re both fucking stupid,” Levi retorted, pushing Eren from his lap finally. He pulled himself to his feet and went over to his desk, collapsing down in his chair. He began rifling through a stack of papers, muttering to himself about banning volunteers from his office. Erwin gently eased Armin from his own lap, smiling as he instantly bounded towards his siblings play-fighting in the corner. He shuffled over to where Levi was sat, peering down at the form he’d managed to find.

“I’m making a start on your adoption papers. I’ll need to check your house again for all the dog-proofing and then you can come back and pick them up.”

Erwin nodded, curling his fingers around the back of the chair. “It feels like it’s gone so quickly.”

“Yeah, once you’ve passed my initial tests, it doesn’t take long… unless the dogs don’t take to you. But for some fucking reason they all loved you.”

“ _For some reason_ ,” Erwin snorted. “Don’t play dumb, Levi.”

“For all I know you wash with that bacon shower-gel.”

“There’s bacon shower-gel?”

Levi nodded, scribbling things like Erwin’s name in the appropriate spaces. “For manly men who enjoy things like spitting, shoving their hands down their trousers, and smelling like meat-products.”

Erwin huffed, straightening his back, wincing at the loud cracks that followed. “Well, you learn something new every day.”

Levi winced at the sound of Erwin’s back, shifting his gaze onto him. “Are you all right, old man? That sounds pretty serious.”

“I’m good. I don’t usually let my posture slip so much, my back’s just not used to it.”

“Fair enough. Okay, I’ve got a bit of a hectic schedule for the next week or so, so I’ll contact you when I’ve figured out what’s going on before I contact you for your final meeting, okay?”

Erwin nodded, leaning closer to Levi again. “That’s fine, gives me more time to sort out the house, I suppose. And get in some supplies for them.”

“Good, you’d better do that.”

Erwin watched Levi for a few moments before letting out a quiet sigh. “Would you like me to leave you to it?”

Levi shrugged. “You’re not too much of a distraction, but if you’d rather go home and make a start then you’re more than welcome to.”

“I might. As much as I’d like to, I can’t just hang around here all day.”

“Would you like me to see you out?”

“You don’t have to.”

Levi smirked, getting to his feet. “No, I think I will. If only for proof you’ve actually left and aren’t lurking around, waiting for me.”

Erwin chuckled, letting Levi lead the way. “Honestly, Levi, it’s as if you don’t like me at all.”

“I have no idea what gave you that idea. Come on, out of my office you creep.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey look.. another fic I start and won't finish...  
> NO! I have this one all written out, I'm just waiting for it to all be beta'd. So look out for those updates. I have no clue when they'll come but I promise they will. I've been working on this fic for the better part of about a year (on and off) and I'm really eager to post and see how you guys like it.
> 
> Please leave a comment
> 
> Also, in case any of you are curious and lazy with google, I have a post on my Tumblr with all the dog breeds. I tried to find pictures that also vaguely suited their personalities, but it's not always easy.. Anyway, [here you go](http://the-nerdinator.tumblr.com/post/82219791660/dog-adoption-au)..


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